Smash Bros Altercation
by Kirigiya The Wanderer
Summary: The Smashers are back in the fourth Smash tournament. There will be new Smashers, rivalries, and perhaps even romance. Read to find out! Main pairing is LinkxSamus. Summary sucks, I know.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone. Kirigiya here. I'd like to present Smash Bros. Altercation. I know it's short, I plan on expanding this chapter later, but I'm busy with the rest of the story right now. Because this chapter is so short, I'm going to be adding a part two to this pilot chapter, probably sometime tomorrow. The schedule for posting chapters is probably going to be once a week after I finish the pilot, maybe on Wednesday, I haven't decided. But I will let you guys know, don't worry. And now, without further ado, the story!**

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the start of a new tournament," a giant white hand said, to the applause of a large audience. "This tournament will be even bigger than the last, and I hope all the more entertaining as well," he said to more applause. "The tournament, formally named Altercation, will begin in two days. I trust that you use these days to prepare for the grueling battles ahead. That is all," he finished jovially.

The large hand was Master Hand, and the tournament he was announcing was the Smash Bros. Tournament. It was a tournament in which all of Nintendo's greatest heroes battled for supremacy, and the title of champion. Not one of the fighters present wasn't excited about this announcement; they'd been waiting for quite some time since the last one, the Brawl Tournament.

"Wow, I can't wait to pulverize the others!" a young boy clad in green, and equipped with a sword and shield, exclaimed.

"Now now, Toon," a gentle, female, voice chided. "Remember, this tournament isn't about pulverizing your opponents. It's about showcasing your-" the woman was cut off by Toon Link.

"Showcasing my skills and abilities to those of different cultures, while also learning from them and improving our friendly bond with them. I get it, Zelda, honest. But, can't I want to pulverize just one person, like Falcon?"

Zelda smiled in amusement, resting her hand on the young hero's shoulder.

"Alright, you can look forward to utterly annihilating that pervert. But remember to be on your best behavior,"

"Alright," the child groaned.

"Hey Toony, over here!" a couple of boys in T-shirts and shorts exclaimed, waving madly to him as they walked up the steps of Smash Mansion.

"Bye, Zelda! If you need me, I'm with Ness and Lucas!" Toon Link cried as he ran off to play with his friends, waving at Zelda awkwardly over his shoulder.

"He reminds me of myself when I was his age," a young man's voice spoke as he appeared at Zelda's side.

"That's because you're the same person, Link," she said playfully.

"Yes, well I like to think I was more mature at his age," Link replied, smiling.

"Hey, where were you?" Zelda inquired, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Were you with Samus?"

Link's face became a noticeable shade of pink. Zelda had been the first, and only, person to figure out who the Hero of Hyrule had an interest in.

"We were just talking about the tournament, you know? Reminiscing on past battles and catching up,"

"I'm sure," Zelda commented, still smirking at Link. When she thought he'd squirmed enough, she decided to change the subject.

"Anyways, how do you think the competition will be this year?" Zelda asked, noting how Link visible relaxed.

"Well, its sure to be pretty stiff, as always. I just wonder who the newcomers will be?"

"I don't know, Link, guess we'll find out tomorrow," Zelda commented, gazing out upon the mansion. "Well it's late, I'll see you tomorrow Link. Good night!" Zelda called as she began walking into the mansion, leaving Link standing outside alone.

Even though it was late, Link decided to stay out and take a stroll around the grounds. He liked to stay up late, and supposed that was a contributing factor as to why he was so lazy in the mornings. He headed straight to his favorite place on the lot: in the midst of a clearing in the forest off to the side of Smash Mansion, there was an open patch of grass in front of a flowing river that allowed him the most peace and tranquility on the entire lot. He loved it. Out in the open, he could hear the wind blowing through the trees, feel the breeze in his hair, and hear the rushing water of the river. It reminded him of home.

He sat down in the grass, staring out at the night sky for a few moments before taking out a blue ocarina. It was an instrument he played a few reincarnations ago, back when he was known as the Hero of Time. It, above all other things, made him feel completely at peace.

"Nice spot you have here," a voice stated from behind Link, startling him as he stopped playing the ocarina as he whirled to find the owner of that voice. He tensed when he realized it was Samus in her Zero Suit. At least that explained how she managed to sneak up on him. Zoned out playing his ocarina or not, walking around in that heavy suit of hers would have been all to easy for his Hylian ears to pick up.

"Samus," he greeted with a nod, which she returned, taking a seat next to him in the grass. It was silent for a moment as both Smashers stared at the sky in companionable silence. They liked it that way, that's just how they were. They weren't big on talking, preferring to speak with actions instead. Link supposed that's why they became friends in the first place, he wasn't pestering her about what her appearance was, and he didn't show shock when it was revealed she was a woman.

"How'd you know of my little getaway here?" Link questioned after a bit of stargazing.

"You always used to disappear, back when the Smash Tournaments had first started," Samus began. "I always wondered where you went, but it took me until the end of the Melee Tournament to find you here,"

"I like to get away sometimes," Link replied. "You know, for someone who's job is finding people, you seem to have had trouble finding me here," Link commented offhandedly, smirking at the bounty hunter beside him.

"Hey, you're a better woodsman than I, it wasn't exactly easy," Samus returned, smiling.

"Did my ears just hear what I think they did?" Link began, smiling broadly as he teased Samus. "Samus, admitting someone is better than her at something?"

He was rewarded for his teasing with an elbow to the ribs.

"Alright, alright sorry," he said, massaging his injured ribs. "I meant to say that the only reason one as skilled as you in the arts of tracking didn't find me right away was because you chose to leave me alone. It was all due to your humble and kind nature," he said jokingly.

"That's better," Samus said as she smirked at him.

The two stayed out a while longer, sitting in comfortable silence for an hour or two before saying goodbye and heading to bed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

**Alright guys, that's part one! Yea! I'm so excited for this. Please be sure to review my story, as I like to know people read and enjoy my stories while also obtaining advice on how to become a better author. Up next: The newcomers are revealed, and it's Link and Samus' first battles of the tournament! See you guys next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello once again, viewers. I suppose if you survived the clichés of the previous chapter, then you are a stronger person than I. I'll be working on fixing that, don't worry. On a different note, I realized I didn't put a disclaimer in my first chapter. So allow me to remedy that. Disclaimer: I don't own the Smash Bros. nor any related character. I own only the plot of this story. There, now that the boring stuff's out of the way, on with the story!**

Link absently scratched his chin as he waited on Master Hand to show up with the new arrivals. It was tradition that, before the first match, all new Smashers be introduced to the old crowd. They had been waiting for about fifteen minutes now, and Link was beginning to suspect that something was wrong. Master Hand was never late, he was always on time, so much so that it was a tad bit creepy. Link sighed; at least that explained why Toon Link and his friends weren't in attendance.

His eyes wandered over the crowd until he spotted a familiar bounty hunter, clad in her robotic suit. They nodded at each other before he began staring at the ground again. He hoped Toon Link would hurry up whatever it was he was doing, Link couldn't wait to get out into the arena. Gentle soul he might be, but Link loved being in a friendly duel where there was no risk of serious injury. It really got him pumped, and was fun to battle so many opponents that could hold their own against him. No offence, bulbins. Not too terribly long after, there was a crash resounding loudly from somewhere else in the mansion, and a voice that Link recognized as Master Hand's yelling loudly.

A few minutes later, a disturbingly pink Master Hand floated into the room, closely followed by Lucas, Ness, and Toon Link. Lucas looked ashamed of himself, Ness was openly smirking, and Toon Link was failing to hide his snickers as coughs.

"Master Hand, what's with the sudden change of style?" Wolf sniggered from somewhere in the crowd.

"Shut up, Wolf! I don't need your attitude today," Master Hand said sharply.

"Someone's panties are in a twist,"

"You too, Falco!"

"Sorry, sorry,"

The trio of pranksters could have sworn Master Hand was glaring at them, save for the fact that Master Hand had no eyes to begin with. Be that as it may, they were understandably uncomfortable as they made their way over to stand in the crowd, Toon Link heading straight for his older incarnation.

"Hey there, big bro!" he said jovially.

"Toon, what did you do this time?" Link asked, suppressing a smile.

"Oh nothing, just gave Master Hand a much needed makeover, that's all. He looked like he needed one,"

" Quiet!" Master Hand called out, trying to get everyone's attention. "Well," he began, drawing himself up. "Now that the childish games are over, we may formally begin with the introduction of the new Smashers. Remember to give them all a great Smash Bros. welcome. First up, Lyndis of the Sacaen Plains!"

A young girl, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties, walked out of a back room to the applause of everyone, particularly Marth and Ike.

"Yes, yes. Welcome, Lyndis, to the tournament! Next up is Knuckles the Echidna!"

A red anthropomorphic echidna walked out of the back room to more applause, waving, before he went to stand next to Sonic in the crowd.

"Next is Megaman!"

Once again, there was applause as the blue hero walked out for a moment, before walking into the crowd.

"Fourth is Bowser Jr.!" and the mischievous little koopa walked out, smiling broadly and waving madly. There was less applause this time, but it was even louder than when the other characters were introduced because Bowser was making sure to be as loud as possible.

"Atta boy, son!"

"Last, but not least, Isaac!" and the other blonde sword-wielding hero stepped forth, waving a bit before joining the crowd of people waiting to hear the rest of what Master Hand had to say.

"That concludes are list of new Smashers, I hope they are all treated well, as Smashers. Anyways, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the matches!" he said to much cheering.

"Remember, this is just a practice, or warm-up, if you prefer, match. There will be no rankings today, just a friendly one stock, no time limit match between two Smashers, with no items. Alright, let's go!"

After everyone was in the viewing area, two Smashers got called in for the first match: Fox and Ness. Link honestly wasn't paying much attention when they left the room, thinking about who his opponent might be, and how to counter them. It seemed no time had passed at all when he heard his own name being called.

"Link, vs. Marth!" Master Hand proclaimed from his place in the back of the room.

Link smiled, he loved Smash Bros. matches, but they were all the more enjoyable when he fought against his friends. Marth, being another swordsman, and also easy to get along with, had become Link's friend during the Melee Tournament. He quickly made his way to the prep room, where he was transported to a random stage: Hyrule Temple. This was Link's favorite stage, for obvious reasons. He looked forward, nodding towards Marth as they readied their swords.

"Three!" Master Hand's voice called from above. "Two, one. Go!"

And it was on, Link and Marth hastily engaged in a fantastically fast display of swordsmanship, their blades like blurs as they danced around each other, searching for a weakness in their opponent's defense. After a successful parry, Marth moved to stab Link, only for his sword to meet Link's shield. Link quickly tried a downward slash on Marth before he could get his guard back up, but Marth rolled to the side, dodging it. After a brief respite, they were at it again.

After a quick struggle, Marth succeeded in slashing Link, sending him backwards. But Marth wasn't done yet; before Link hit the ground, Marth jumped into the air, hitting Link again, and knocking him over the edge. Link barely had time to use his Hookshot to cling to the ledge, hastily pulling himself up. He readied his sword again as Marth charged him. Right before they would make contact, Link rolled to the side, and around Marth, putting his opponent to the edge. He quickly exchanged more blows with Marth, before deflecting a particularly powerful slash downwards. Thrown off balance, Marth wasn't prepared for Link's Kaitengiri attack, knocking him off the ledge, without room to recover. After a few seconds of falling, there was a loud "Game!" from above.

Link wearily walked back into the waiting room from the prep room, Marth sure wasn't an easy foe to face. Link immediately sought him out when he arrived, shaking his hand firmly.

"Nice match, my friend," Marth said. "But don't expect for victory to be so easy for you next time,"

"That was anything but easy," Link replied. "But I can't wait for our next battle,"

After they had settled down, Master Hand called the next two names on his list.

"Captain Falcon, Vs. Samus!"

Link studied Samus as she walked into the prep room. She seemed calm and collected, though it wasn't exactly easy to tell, since she was in her suit. Link supposed being able to read her, however slightly, came from their years of friendship. Captain Falcon, however, seemed all too eager to battle the bounty hunter. "Perv!" Link heard someone call when Falcon had left the room.

Link wasn't paying much attention to the room anymore, though. He was studying the combatants as they appeared on their stage, Yoshi's Island. This match was surprisingly quick, though after it was over, Link could understand why. It started out normally enough, with the combatants engaging in some hand-to-hand combat. It was when Samus jumped back to charge her arm canon that things took a turn for the worst, at least for Captain Falcon. He rushed her, to which her response was to jump backwards. But to everyone's horror, Captain Falcon continued pursuing her, and caught her in the dreaded up+B move. Everyone stared, openmouthed, as time seemed to freeze on the moment of Captain Falcon using the move on Samus.

"He's dead," Mario commented simply as everyone nodded in agreement.

Even though she was wearing her suit, Samus still felt thouroughly violated. Her vision became red, and when she could see straight again, Captain Falcon was on the ground, occasionally twitching.

"And that ends today's set of matches," Master Hand announced after a pause.

When Samus walked out of the prep room again, Link went to go see her, when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down, spotting Toon Link.

"What is it, Toon?" he asked politely.

"Can you make sure I don't forget something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Make sure I never forget to be as nice as possible to Samus, alright?"

**And that's another chapter done! I hope I'm moving away from the clichés I felt were in the first chapter. Don't get comfortable with the chapter a day thing, because now I'm on a once a week update schedule. Sorry about that. Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

***Insert witty remark about how I don't own Super Smash Bros. Anyways, hello again readers! Thank you for all of the reviews, I love them. There may only be six, but it's more than I've ever had. Thanks again! I got the idea for this chapter from my friend Linira, he writes some pretty darn good fics here as well. Without further ado, here comes the chapter!**

Link was sleeping peacefully in bed, dreaming about a certain blonde bounty hunter, when he felt something fall on him, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him awake.

"Link! Link! Link! Guess what! Guess what happening!" Were the sounds that he heard as he struggled to breathe.

"Oh, that's right, you need to breathe! Sorry," the voice, which he recognized as Toon Link's, said as he felt the weight leave him.

"What's up?" Link asked when he finally caught his breath back.

Toon Link suddenly became very excited. "Look, look!" he cried, running to the window and pulling the blinds open.

Link squinted as a bright white light shone out of the open window, momentarily blinding him.

"Isn't it great?" he heard Toon Link ask.

"What?" he replied groggily, getting up and stretching.

"Just look out the window!"

"Alright, alright," Link replied as he looked upon the Smash Mansion from out of the window.

Beautiful snow was falling, and had already gathered along the ground around the mansion, blanketing it in feet of snow.

"Ness, Lucas, Zelda, and I are going out to play. You should come too," Toon Link said, turning his huge, innocent eyes upon Link.

"Maybe later, Toon. But I'd rather not go out right now," Link said apologetically.

Toon Link sighed as he walked out of Link's bedroom, stopping at the door frame.

"I guess Samus will just be out there all alone, in the cold, with nobody to warm her," Toon Link began. "Oh well, I suppose Ganon might want to keep her warm," he finished, turning around with a smirk.

He gaped when he saw Link, fully garbed in a white tunic, including scarf, heading towards the door with a look of determination on his face.

"What?" Link asked as he passed his younger incarnation. "I'm saving a maiden from a great evil, it's my job,"

"Whatever," Toon Link responded, shaking his head as he closed the door.

_Meanwhile_

Samus groaned as she heard someone knocking loudly on her door.

"Samus, Samus get up!" a voice she recognized as Ness (or was it Lucas?) said as he continued banging on her door.

_ Doesn't matter who they are. They're dead. _Samus thought to herself, angrily getting out of bed and walking to the door. She opened it to see the small, black-haired psychic. Ness, then.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to reign in her temper. She did _not _like being woken up early.

"Well," Ness said, somewhat nervously, "It's snowing outside, and we wanted to know if you would… join us?" he finished with an audible gulp as Samus began to tower over him, fire in her eyes.

"You woke me up because of snow?" she asked in a deadly calm voice.

"Well, yea," Ness said, rubbing the back of his head. "So, will you play?"

Samus stared at him for a long moment, too long for Ness.

"No," Samus answered calmly, slamming the door in Ness' face.

She angrily grumbled to herself as she tried to lay back down and resume her dream of a certain green-clad hero of twilight. Distantly she heard Ness' voice again, and what he said chilled her to the bone.

"Well, that's fine I guess. But Toon Link was going to get Link to come out with us, and on their way out, they ran into Peach. She said it would be a pleasure to hang out with the hero of Hyrule and he didn't seem to mind either, so we told her to meet us outside. But I guess if you want to stay in all day, that's fine with-" he didn't get to finish as the door to Samus' room opened violently, revealing Samus in a heavy orange winter jacket, jeans, and a magenta scarf around her face.

"Let's go play outside," she said, nearly dragging Ness along with her.

_A few minutes later_

Link squinted as he stepped into the snow, damn it was bright. As he looked around, trying to get his eyes used to the brightness, he noticed practically every Smasher that resided in the mansion (all Smashers lived in the mansion, by the way) were out playing in the snow, even as it kept falling lightly.

"Where's Samus?" Link asked.

"She might not be here yet," Toon Link said. "Wanna have a snowball fight while we wait?"

"Sure," Link replied as they began throwing snowballs at each other, laughing when one of Toon Link's snowballs hit Sonic in the face as he ran by.

"Whoops, almost hit Peach," Link said as a snowball that he threw missed the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom by a few feet.

"What's that you said about Peach?" a female voice asked sweetly.

Link turned around to face Samus with surprise.

"Samus, there you are," he exclaimed as he moved to greet her.

"Hey," she said shortly, glaring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Samus sighed as she looked behind Link, spotting Peach having a conversation with Mario.

"I thought… never mind. I'll kill Ness for that," she grumbled quietly.

A short distance away, Ness could feel a certain killing intent from a certain bounty hunter, aimed right at him.

"If you'll excuse me guys," he said, starting to sweat as he stopped the younger Smashers from throwing snowballs at him. "I forgot, I need to go… uh… just go," he said as he dashed inside the mansion, hastily barricading the door to his room, praying that Samus wouldn't hunt him down.

"Well, how's your morning been?" Link asked politely, smiling at her.

Samus smiled under the scarf. One of Link's best qualities was that he couldn't be mean or evil even if he tried, he was always a great guy, a gentleman.

"Apart from getting rudely woken up by Ness, it's been okay-" she started before Link crouched down hastily, and a white blur smacked right into her face.

Link's warrior instincts had told him to duck, something was coming. So he ducked. Well, he forgot that if he ducked, Samus would get hit instead. So it wasn't a surprise to see a very cold Samus glowering over a cowering Link.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled as he shielded his face with his hands.

Samus looked up at the sound of laughing, catching sight of Toon Link and Lucas laughing beside a… "Catapult?" she asked quietly, although for some reason Toon Link and Ness were able to hear her.

"You built a catapult, and decided the best person to target was me?"

The two pranksters were sweating profusely by now.

"Well, we were aiming for Link," Toon Link trailed off hopelessly.

"Toon," Lucas said, tugging his sleeve.

"Yea?" Toon Link said as Samus slowly began advancing towards them.

"I think I peed," Lucas commented quietly.

"Can we get a head start?" Toon Link asked Samus as she came within a few yards of them.

"No. Prepare to meet your demise!" she shouted as she sprinted after them.

"Link!" Toon Link yelled to Link as he ran from Samus. "You forgot to remind me to be nice to her! Ow!" he shouted in the distance.

"She's quite a handful, Link," Zelda commented as she approached the Hylian, helping him to his feet. "I hope you're ready for it,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Link asked confusedly.

Zelda sighed. "Nothing,"

_ Great, now she's giving me that 'oh you're hopeless' look. What am I missing here?_ Link silently questioned himself as he watched Samus chase a crying Toon Link and Lucas around the mansion ("We're sorry! We're sorry!").

_Later that evening_

It was a cold group of Smashers that entered the mansion later in the day, and most retired to their rooms after dinner. But a few went to the living area of the mansion, and sat down to watch a movie.

"If the wizard was so intelligent, he would've had the Fellowship ride eagles to Mordor," Zelda was saying.

"Zelda, you're undermining the plot of a great book and movie!" Luigi scolded from his armchair by the fireplace.

"Hey, guys," Link said from his position at the left arm of the giant couch that most of the present Smashers were sitting on, trying to change the subject as the movie continued. "Has anyone seen Ness?"

_ Dear Journal,_

_ I've lost track of time here, alone in the dark. I don't know how much longer I'll last, but I know my doom will be soon. The one that hunts me is both smart and fierce. And I made her mad. Look, Journal, can I call you Steve? Thanks. Anyways, Steve, it wasn't my fault. The guys and I were just trying to get Link and Samus together, alright? Is that a sin? Everyone at the mansion knows that the two are crushing on each other, but they aren't doing anything about it. They're just staying platonic!_

Ness dropped his pen as he heard a knock at his door.

"I knew my safety wouldn't last," he whispered as he stood up, moving a few feet beside his bed, away from the door.

"Ness, open up!" a muffled voice said through the door.

"She's come for me," Ness said quietly, accepting his fate.

"Back! You cannot pass!" he said, trying in vain to save his life.

"I'm coming in!" came the reply.

Ness began breathing heavily, sweat trickling down his face. He supposed there were worse ways to go, although getting dismembered by Samus didn't sound like the best way to die. Ness raised his head, determination in his face as he resolved to face his fate like a man. Then the door burst open, and Ness shrieked and hid under his bed as the intruder barged in.

Ness waited to die at any moment, but nothing happened for a long time. He slowly raised his head up over the bed, hoping beyond hope that a miracle had just happened, when the laughing started. Great, belly-aching chuckles that had the intruder putting their hands to their knees as they bent over, struggling to breathe.

"You… you thought I was Samus!" the voice of Toon Link laughed as Ness realized who had just entered his room. "What's the matter, scared Samus is going to kill you? Isn't that funny, you widdle baby!"

Ness, in his anger, jumped over his bed and smacked Toon Link in the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an insufferable jerk! Gosh, it's time you grew up, and started acting more mature!"

"Oh Ness!" a female voice sang from down the hallway.

Ness squeaked as he pushed Toon Link out of the door and slammed it shut, locking it.

Toon Link was still chuckling as Samus entered his field of vision.

"Thanks for helping me scare the crap out of him, Samus!" he said, still laughing.

"No sweat. He deserved it anyways. See you around, Toon," she said as she began walking off.

"You're going to be great for my older self," Toon Link called to Samus as she walked away. She abruptly came to a stop.

"Can I get a head start?" Toon Link asked as he stood, petrified, in front of the door to Ness' room.

"Run," Samus whispered as she began sprinting after him.

"Help!" Toon Link screamed as he began running throughout the mansion, doing his best to avoid an angry bounty hunter.

**Well, that's a chapter, guys. It's a bit longer than my other chapters, but I'm trying to make them longer. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as I'm going to start moving this story towards more serious stuff starting next chapter. Thanks for reading, guys. See you later!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, I've been battling a bad case of writers' block, and I've only just powered through it. I feel that this chapter is my worst yet (it is my shortest) and I hope you can bear with me to the next chapter. It will be better, I promise you guys that. Oh. And I was going to get this chapter out yesterday, but my internet went wonky. So, I apologize. Also, I don't own Smash bros. On with the story!**

The room was dark, only lit dimly by two flickering candles that stood on either side of a figure in a black cloak and hood which completely obscured their face. The figure seemed to be a statue, the only clue that it was a living being was the slow rise and fall of their chest. The figure seemed to be contemplating the wall directly in front of it when a door opened behind them, another person in similar garb striding forth. The newcomer stopped short of the contemplative figure, kneeling in respect.

"My Lord," he said in a raspy voice, almost whispering. "The new tournament has begun, as you are already aware, and I have much information to give you as to the strengths and weaknesses of the Smashers. Psychological and physical,"

The other figure was silent for a moment.

"I see," he said in a voice that, while deep, was soft, serpent-like. "Tell me about the Hylian,"

The kneeling figure nodded rapidly, even though he knew his master couldn't see him.

"He is strong in many ways, My Lord. He has no apparent weaknesses," the kneeling figure halted for a moment, as if savoring what he was about to say. "But, I have found one of his only weaknesses. He has been on many adventures, triumphed over great evil, but he is still naïve. He believes the best of everyone, and is way too trusting. And I know just how to exploit this, if you wish so, Master,"

"What is your plan?"

After hearing the plan, the figure had a few misgivings about it, and wasn't afraid of letting his servant know it.

"Do you really think that will work? That could blow everything! The chances of that actually succeeding are slim to none!" though he raised his voice, it never once grew to a shout.

His servant cowered back, shielding his face with his arms.

"Master, Master! Wait! There is something I haven't told you yet! I have gotten in contact with that operative you told me about, and she agreed to help with the plan,"

The figure stood in silence for a moment, and when he spoke next, there was an underlying current of warning in his voice.

"Good, that increases your chances of success by a long shot. But if you should fail, if you return to me without what I want, you _will_ pay!"

"Understood, Master!"

"Good, now go!"

The cowering figure hastily stood and made his way out, shutting the door behind him as he ran from his master.

"Soon… soon, I shall have my vengeance," the figure muttered, opening his eyes as they shone with a dark purple flame.

_Meanwhile, at Smash Mansion_

A few days after the snow at Smash Mansion, Link awoke feeling refreshed. The "warm-up" matches had all finished the day before, and Link was glad for a reason to sleep in. Judging by the clock on his bedside table, it was almost noon, so he quickly did his morning routine before heading down towards the kitchens, intent on getting something to fill the emptiness that was his stomach. As he turned a corner, he bumped into a short person dressed for a heavy winter.

"Oh, sorry Popo," he apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going,"

"Oh, it's alright," the Ice Climber responded cheerily. "Hey, have you seen Toon around? We were supposed to go pranking earlier,"

"I don't know, but if you can't find him, he's probably in his room,"

"Thanks Link!" Popo said as he ran off.

Link just shook his head, smiling. Without those kids, this place just wouldn't feel right. They were part of the reason the mansion was so… magical. Shaking his head, he resumed his walk to the kitchens, occasionally glancing out of nearby windows.

After breakfast, he decided to take a stroll around the grounds. The snow from earlier hadn't melted at all, and blanketed the surrounding landscape in its wintry embrace. As he walked, he took out his ocarina, and began playing. Distantly he could hear Ness arguing with Captain Falcon about who was better with women, to which Link grinned. Those two could be so childish.

He was so occupied with his thoughts that he almost ran into someone else.

"Sorry," he said to who he recognized as Megaman.

The robot merely smiled at him.

"No problem, Link. Hey, I was wondering, will you walk with me?"

Link smiled politely.

"Sure," he responded, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk about the mansion with you," Megaman said as he began walking across the grounds.

"Alright, what about the mansion?"

"How're the other Smashers? I haven't really interacted with them much, most seem content to stay within their pre-established group of friends. Only Mario, Pikachu, Fox, the kids, and Samus ever say more than a few words to me at a time,"

"I'm sure they'll come around. They'll warm up to you soon enough," Link tried to sound encouraging as he patted Megaman's arm.

"Thanks Link, I wasn't sure I was welcome here,"

"Of course you are. Trust me, it happens to all of the newcomers. Don't worry, you'll be best friends with everyone by the time the tournament's over,"

"You're a good friend, Link," Megaman said, smiling at Link before he walked off.

"Strange," Link commented to himself as he resumed his walk.

"But I guess he just needed someone to help him feel wanted. I can relate. Boy, I sure had that problem with the whole Hero of Time thing, destined to slay an unspeakable evil at a young age. Glad I got my confidence back," he took a breath, smiling as his breath misted in front of him.

"I wonder where Toon is?" he wondered as he saw Samus waving at him as she made her way over.

Man, did she make him feel wonderful. If only she knew.

_Toon Link's Room_

"Ugh, man this sucks," Toon Link groaned from his bed, nursing a black eye and sporting multiple bruises.

"Well, you did bring it on yourself," Lucas said from a chair next to his bed, where he was reading a book.

"Shut up, Lucas. I'm never trying to get Samus and Link together again. It isn't worth it!"

"Come on, you know you don't mean that,"

Toon Link sighed. Lucas was probably right. The things he'd do for his older incarnation.

"Yea, I don't mean it, but it doesn't mean I can't be mad about it," Toon Link groaned, turning over in bed and covering his face with his arm.

"It isn't that bad,"

"Yes it is! If you even mention Samus being romantically involved with anyone, well, you're dead. Or you end up like me, I don't know which is worse,"

"She'll come around, you know she's just… shy around the male population," Lucas said, not looking up from his book.

"Pffft!" Toon said, obviously disagreeing. "Yea, and I also heard Bowser can fly with magical wings of love,"

"You heard that too?" Lucas asked, actually looking up from his book.

Toon deadpanned.

"What?"

"Nevermind…"

_Just Outside Smash Mansion_

"Well, that was fun," Link commented, brushing snow off his shoulder as he and Samus approached the doors to the mansion.

"Yea, those guys had it coming," Samus replied steadily.

Just a few minutes earlier, they had unwittingly walked into the middle of a snowball fight between the Fire Emblem Smashers and the Star Fox Smashers. After Link and Samus had tried to get out of the battle, they were heckled from afar by the Star Fox team, with Wolf insulting their warrior's honor. The ensuing chaos had been fun and light-hearted, and nobody was spared the wrath of the Hylian and the Bounty Hunter.

Link opened the door for Samus, but before she walked through, he stopped her.

"Hang on, you've got something…" he trailed off as he gently brushed a snowflake out of her hair, causing her to tint pink.

_ 'Did Samus just blush? No, there's no way.'_ Link thought as he stared into her eyes.

"Thanks. I think I'm going to just go to my room, headache and all," Samus said quickly, not making eye contact with Link as she dashed up the stairs to her room, leaving a confused Link behind.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" he asked the empty room.

"Women, trust me, they're almost like a different species," a voice said as a think hand rested on his shoulder.

Link turned around to see King Dedede staring after Samus with a knowing expression.

"What do you know about women?" he asked, skeptical.

"I know a lot about the curious creatures known as women," Dedede said, taking Link by the shoulder and gesturing with his giant arm. "They're crazy all right, but you can't live without 'em,"

Link sweat dropped.

"Have you honestly ever had a conversation with one that has lasted for more than half a minute?"

Dedede looked scandalized that Link could ever think such a thing.

"Well, of course! No, actually, not even once in my life," Dedede said, suddenly teary.

"Hey, don't be sad, I'm sorry," Link tried to apologize, but he was interrupted by Dedede bursting into laughter.

"Don't feel sorry for me, lad! Feel sorry for yourself! The life of a bachelor is wonderful, and filled with surprises. I fear you won't be one for long," he ruffled Link's hair before walking away, laughing jovially.

Link stood in the empty room awhile longer, wondering why an immature penguin… thing was acting like an elder who found Link's inexperience with women amusing in a way only those who have ascended through to the tops of society could understand. Eventually, he just face palmed, sighing deeply.

"Am I the only sane one in this mad house?"

** Well guys, that's a wrap. The story is only just starting, so we should some more action next chapter. Sorry once more for the delays, see you next time!**


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